Rope brake



Aug. 1950 F. R. BUCKLEY ETAL 2,516,851

ROPE 3am:

Filed Oct. 16, 1945 INVENTOR.

FRANK R. BUCKLEY y DUDLEY SMYTHIE Patented Aug. 1, 1950 noes. BRAKE Frank R. Buckley; Nutley, and Dudley Smythe,

Lyndhurst, N. J

Application October 16, .1945, SeriaLNo. 622,669.

4'Claims. (Cl. 188-65.1)

(Granted gender the act or" 'March" 3, 1883, as I The .present invention relates to a rope brake.

anduhas special reference toa manually actuated rope brake that can be adjusted' to put suificient pressure on a rope or line to retard its movement or stop 'it' entirelys It is often necessaryto stopa rope or line having a heavy loadon-it without slacking the line, as in ltherusergof a {rope "or-line on board a ship to hoist boats or other heavy objects; u It-ris usual to have the-line run thltough blocks with the end secured to a winch for taking up on the line or payingit out.

At'present' 'onboard ship,when it is desired to brake a' line or rope; a rope stop is generally employed between the-winch and thejblocks. This'methodis insecure-and results in some paying out of the rlinevavhen' the :winchis eased off.

Witlr the present brake, thevline can be stopped quicklyranmeasily whileg'thei full strain :iSrOil it withoutiaanysl-ipping on-paying-out when the load is taken off the winch. Thus, an object such as a boat can be hoisted and the line between the blocks and the winch made fast to a cleat or other securing means without any slipping of the line.

An object of the present invention is to provide a rope brake of simple construction that is positive acting and capable of wide usage.

Further objects and advantages of this invention, as well as its construction, arrangement and 1 operation, will be apparent from the following description and claims in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a rope brake embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view; and

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view thereof taken along the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views. A rope brake embodying the present invention is provided with a base II with eye bolts I2 secured to one side thereof. The shanks of the eye bolts extend preferably into the base II with the eye portions of the bolts in substantial alignment and spaced a dis tance from the base II. Mounted on the pposite side of the base II is a rack I3.

Associated with the base II is a carriage I3a, which comprises two side members I4 and I5 with a shaft I6 extending therebetween. A pinion I1 is mounted on the shaft I6 between the two side members I4 and I5 of the carriage. The pinion I'I meshes with the teeth on the rack I3 so that rotation of the pinion causes the carriage I3a to be moved toward and away from the amended wApril i 30,. 1928; i 37.0 0. G. I 757) base .I I. Side guides I 8 mounted. on the. base. I I serve to. guide the, shaft I6 and; prevent th'ex pinionrI I froro moving out :of mesh with the rack I3.

Connected to the carriage 53a. are U bolts I9;

" The ends :of: each of I the @U 1 bolts IE3 "are connected for :rotating .the latter.

towthe side -members i I 4 and: rl 5 ofthe carriage ltaand extend through openings-irr the base-II with th'eloop portions of the ubolts' -positioned' between- :adjacent eye bolts; 2 (and r in substantial alignment 2 therewith; With this-v arrangement, the eye 1001118212 andu ithe loopwportions of -the bolts =I9rform arpassagewayvfor a rope: or a liner A lever 29 is connected fixedly to :the pinion. I I Mounted :on the. lever. is .a spring-actuated catch o1--pawl 2 I positioned to mesh with the arcuate rack 22 so thatpafter the pinion hastbeenwrotatedvby thewhandle to move the "carriage lfiaawayvfromwthe baseII' .0. the 'brake'1canrbewlockedina this position.

To: operate :the brake;- itris:-.first mounted; on a support such as a bulkhead, davit or the like, preferably by Welding. The side of the base II can be welded directly to the support, or brackets can be mounted on the support and the base in turn secured to the brackets. The brake is so positioned that the power end of the rope or line passes through the eye and U bolts with the cleat or other securing member between the brake and the winch or source of power. With this arrangement, the line secured to a power source passes through the brake until such time as it is desired to stop the line, at which time the handle is pulled to rotate the pinion and move the carriage I Be away from the base II. This movement of the carriage pulls the loop end of the U bolts uptoward the base so that the portion of the line between the eye bolts is deflected by the U bolts and the line is held tightly against slipping, the greatest degree of braking being achieved when the line is snubbed against the bottom of base II.

If it is desired to merely slow up the line passing through the brake, the handle is moved a shorter distance so that the portions of the line between the eye bolts are deflected to a lesser extent. Under these conditionsthe line is forced against the fixed eye bolts I2 and sufficient friction is exerted to retard the line. Once the brake is set tightly the line can be slacked ofii from the winch or other source of power and secured to a cleat or other fastening means.

While the present brake has been described hereinabove as having eye bolts and U bolts for the line to pass through, other suitable loop members can be employed so long as one group tends to deflect the line away from the other group.

Various modifications and changes can be made in the subject device without departing from the scope of the invention.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

We claim:

1. A rope brake comprising a base having a plurality of rigid loop members mounted on one side thereof in substantial alignment, a carriage movably mounted with respect to said base on a side thereof other than that on which said loop members are mounted, a plurality of loop members mounted on said carriage with at least one of them positioned between adjacent loop members on said base, said groups of loop members providing a passageway for a rope, and means for relatively moving said base and said carriage to cause said loops on said carriage to urge the rope against said rigid loop members and said one side of said base.

2. A rope brake comprising a base having a plurality of rigid loop members fixedly mounted on one side thereof in substantial alignment for fitting about a rope, a carriage movably mounted With respect to said base on the side opposite said loop members, a plurality of rigid loop members attached to said carriage and extending through said base with the loop portions thereof fitting over said rope intermediate the loop members on said base, and means for relatively moving said base and carriage toward and away from each other.

3. A rope brake comprising a base having a plurality of eye bolts fixedly mounted on one side thereof for receiving a rope therethrough, a carriage movably mounted with respect to said base on the side opposite said loop members, a plurality of U bolts passing through said base with their ends connected to said carriage and the loop portions thereof intermediate adjacent eye bolts, a rack on said base extending outwardly adjacent said carriage, a pinion=mounted on said carriage and meshing withsaid rack, and means for rotating said pinion to move said carriage toward and away from said base.

means to lock said carriage against movement relative to said base.

FRANK R. BUCKLEY.

DUDLEY SMYTI-IE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 78,794 Ellis et a1. June 9, 1868 1,103,056 Kobert July 14, 1914 1,244,136 Segerdahl et al.- Oct. 23, 1917 1,578,005 Krout 1 Mar. 30, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 26,601 Netherlands Dec. 15, 1932 268,090 Great Britain Mar. 31. 1927 

